They were the hub of the bustling Financial District, a top tourist attraction and a symbol of New York City’s and America’s steadfast devotion to progress and the future. At the time of their completion, the twin towers were the tallest buildings in the world succeeding the Empire State Building.

On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center became the target of a massive terrorist attack that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people and had a drastic impact on the global market. The disaster also radically altered the skyline of New York City, destroying the twin columns of glass and steel that over the years had come to embody the city itself.

The completion of the twin towers was a dream come true, a record breaking height as at then, the highest feat of Engineering art, the Picasso or Mozart of infrastructure, the Ultimate piece of architectural genius, a phenomenal wonder to behold.

This is a popular historical documentation that will echo in the hearts of Americans, but fortunately these are not the twin towers I’re referring to. We are dealing with a more fundamental trait metaphorically, an inherent character that forms the bedrock of Real success.

Real in the fact that success can be faked, strolling through the walls of your social media platforms, what is seen is often a façade of what truly exists, a caricature and total display of fraudulent activities all in the bid to be successful or rather to look successful.

Many have been carried away and thronged into the valley of competition to outdo each other and appeal to the public eye. We can say we live in a world where social acceptance is the ticket to temporary relevance, weak and over bloated self-esteem.

Speaking of Real success, permit me to present to you a literary architectural design of the twin towers that must be constructed and erected with professional efficiency and meticulous attention to details.

I call them Towers because they stand out among other elements and characters to be exhibited on the road to true success and fulfillment. It’s generally said and accepted that nothing of worth or value comes easy, there’s always a price to pay and sacrifices slaughtered at each check point in order to advance to the next level.

Building a skyscraper is not a day’s job neither is it a task for amateurs nor the incompetent.

Therefore the twin towers of success being referred to here are:COMMITMENT and CONSISTENCY

COMMITMENT

Commitment is an easy concept to understand and talk about but far more difficult to put into practice. If you’ve ever set a New Year resolutions, you’ll know how the passionate enthusiasm you feel soon evaporates when you get back to life as usual.

Commitment is more than a feeling of enthusiasm or sense of purpose. It drives one to take the bull by the horn, develop effective plans & strategies, and take continuous actions aligned with the plan.

In today’s hyper connected world, people have been seduced by the idea of quick fixes and short cuts, but in reality anything achieved or attained through such means is only temporal and evading, it doesn’t last.

Everyone has a dream, everyone has a goal, but what separates those who actually accomplish and those who never do? COMMITMENT.

Jim a sleek framed college kid took upon himself a challenge to attrelationship and exercise regularly, he decided to enlist in a gym class and work out till he got results. He pursued his goal with such an enthusiasm that could make ice melt at -20 degrees.

He seemed to be making progress. His biceps were protruding and his body was actually falling in line. He was really getting in shape but along the line his enthusiasm began to wane as a result of the hard work and the long hours he had to spend in the gym.

His exams were fast approaching and his homework was piling up each day. Gradually he began to cut down on his gym time until it became a thing of the past.

On the other hand, Kate, his sister got motivated by his enthusiasm and decided to follow suit in order to lose some pounds of weight she had gained during summer holidays. At first, it seemed impossible but she committed herself to the process while also creating time to study in order to balance her curriculum.

She progressed slowly but steadily until it became her habit and a way of life, she wasn’t affected by her school work because she had devised a strategic plan on how to balance the two.

After a year, her transformation was breath taking, she had lost 40 pounds of weight and was in perfect shape. She became the talk of her school and neighborhood and her commitment to this cause became an inspiration for many who wanted to achieve the same result.

Frank O Connor, the Irish writer, tells in one of his books how as a little boy, he and his friends would make their way across the country side.

And when they came to an orchard wall that seemed too high and too difficult to permit their voyage to continue, they took off their hats and tossed them over the wall and then they had no choice but to follow them and scale the wall.

When you are committed you don’t question the process nor resist it, you throw yourself into the sea and flow with the current like an eagle gliding in the storm while keeping your eyes on the benefits and the end gain no matter the difficulties encountered.

There is a confidence and clarity that comes with commitment, and it is that confidence that inspires others to support you and join you on your path.

Life is full of hurdles, challenges, distractions et cetera but commitment kicks off a chain reaction and sparks off series of events to align in your favor.

In 2015, Amazon crossed the $100 billion mark in annual revenues. CEO, Jeff Bezos claimed that was the fastest any company had ever done.

Amazon continues to grow at such a rapid pace, analysts have started to chart a path for it to become the first $1trillion company. It has attracted the attention of entrepreneurs from around the globe.

Everyone is trying to extract insights on what makes it so successful. The good news is that Jeff Bezos has been upfront about the core operating principles that fuel Amazon’s growth.

He credits the success to their commitment to basic core values which was imbibed from the onset till now; which chief among them is

to accept occasional failure as the price of innovation,

to treat each working day like it’s the first day in business, with no atom of complacency or familiarity, and

an incessant obsession to add more value to their customers.

These core values drives the to develop intimacy with their customers which in turn enables them to work steadfastly to develop befitting solutions that make Amazon an indispensable part of their customers’ world.

Little wonder that he has experienced such a tremendous growth over the years and currently gives Microsoft’s Bill Gates a good competition for the title of the world richest man.

Choosing a career or relationship have a common element, it’s hard to stick to one for a long time. And modern life exhibits that you do not really have to, however the ideal is that you do.

Every relationship rides on the wings of commitment, broken hearts are littered all over the streets because one party in the relationship broke his commitment and erased the trust.

Promotion in career is a product of years of selfless service and commitment put into it.

Distinction in Academic and Intellectual pursuit is a result of commitment to study, research and the learning process.

The power of commitment cannot be over emphasized. It’s the fundamental principle to success, on it lies every other principle.

The History book of the United States of America would not be complete without mentioning Dr Martin Lurther King Jnr, an activist who fought against discrimination and segregation against blacks.

His commitment to that cause has impacted positively on history and changed the status of the black Americans, empowered them to enjoy similar rights with the whites and even produced the first black American President Barack Obama.

The word Commitment strikes a chord of fear, it brings thoughts of feeling trapped, having no options, having to do something undesirable, limiting pleasurable activities all in the bid to yield positive results in the long run.

Tied to it is the fear of missing out on pleasurable activities or fun as a result of investing much time and energy on one thing or person.

There might be an atom of truth in there but if one truly desires to achieve his goals and to attain maximum fulfillment then he must change his perspective and begin to see the process and denials as pleasurable.

There must be a paradigm shift in mindset and attitude for a transformation to occur in life. Success will definitely come at a price and the first price to pay is to sideline other mundane, seemingly urgent, irrelevant activities and focus and commit to your Vision, to your goal or dream.

CONSISTENCY

Consistency is the most underrated ingredient to any successful business, carrier, relationship and life, yet it’s the most essential.

Consistency is a combo of dedication, hard work and commitment. Aristotle once said, “we are what we repeatedly do”.

Therefore success isn’t something you pursue or seek out. It’s just the accumulation of habits you build into your daily routine.

Research has shown that it takes an average of 66 days to build a habit, and building healthy habits will result in greater productivity and optimum performance.

To succeed in any field of life is not a hit and run game, it takes series of hours, days, months and even years of consistently applying healthy habits, principles, and whatever input is demanded in that line of pursuit.

A short term commitment can deliver momentary success but to leave a lasting legacy, to set a record, to be held in high esteem and pedigree, to attain mastery in a field, CONSISTENCY is the ultimate key.

Consistency is discipline’s most devoted friend. This reliable tool doesn’t happen overnight. Rather it takes time to build up a pattern of positive behavior and habits.

It starts with a steady routine. It means to fully dedicate yourself to a task, activity or goal and to fully stay engaged without distraction.

It is your ability to be dependable, reliable and responsible for all your choices, decisions and actions. Consistency is more than just repetition.

It gives room for experiments to know what works and what doesn’t, it gives room for learning, growing, adaptation and evolution. The aim is to improve your effectiveness and efficiency over time.

Consistency is the key to mastery and its worst enemy is distraction. The best way to be consistent is to get an accountability partner, a coach, mentor or group of like-minded colleagues.

Knowing you are accountable to someone or a group of people will motivate you to fasten your seat belt, take massive action and up your game.

If you want to be taken serious, then be Consistent.

Consistency is making a decision to be better than you were yesterday and maintain that attitude in order to reach peak performance.

It is a greater factor in success that talent because while talent could be rare, consistency on the other hand is within the reach of any one who subscribes to it. It facilitates progress and builds momentum with time.

In the Entertainment world, consistency separates the one-hit wonders from the real legends.

We’ve witnessed so many talented, gifted musicians who released breath taking hit tracks that won the heart of so many fans only to fade into oblivion by their inability to build on their success, due to lack of consistency.

On the other hand, some who may be considered as average or above average in talent, kept releasing good songs back to back until they became a brand name and the fans favorite.

The just concluded 60th Annual Grammy Awards can bear witness to this fact where a spectacular musician Bruno Mars bagged six awards including the three major awards, best song, best album & best record, whereas there were hundreds of music artists who graced the event and yet went home empty handed.

He achieved this feat by consistently releasing good music to his audience and fans. He has remained a consistently likable figure in the music world with an infectious enthusiasm for pop and R&B.

Having been around for a while, I won’t be wrong if I refer to him as a veteran, yet after all these years he still manages to thrill the fans with good music filled with creativity and passion.

The Gospel category was won by another veteran singer, CeCe Winans currently regarded as the best-selling female gospel artist of all time haven been around for more than 2 decades, sold more than 12 million records and won 12 Grammy awards and other numerous awards as a result of consistency and excellence.

On a personal note, I discovered I had a flair for writing some time ago but i wasn’t really committed to it, I took it as a hubby which I normally use to pass time when ever I was in the mood.

But it soon dawned on me that this was a raw talent that could be refined into a polished skill. It was pertinent to know that so many had made a living and impacted millions of life just by putting their ideas and thoughts on paper.

Recently I made a decision to transform this crude talent into a refined skill, to horn and develop this gift into an asset that could transform and impact lives. But I knew that if this dream would ever come to reality then i must invest my time and subscribe to consistent practice.

I deliberately engaged myself to building healthy habits and setting personal deadlines that would facilitate the process, and believe me the results have been mind blowing.

It has also impacted on other areas of my life and has been an incredible experience thus far. In Summary we can say that Consistency is a deliberate effort and engaged intentionally until it becomes internalized into a way of life.

“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time”